Shayne Legassie

Shayne is learned, insightful, extraordinarily articulate, and has the most creative, active mind I have ever encountered. These alone would make him a great professor. However, he is also dedicated, funny, generous and kind. When I was a prospective student Columbia promised I would study with world-class minds who would broaden my mind and change the way I thought. With Lit Hum, the University made good on its promise. After a semester in Shayne's class, I can say that I have learned to think in ways I never knew I could. Shayne does not just tell you want to think about books but breaks down literary analysis into understandable components and uses class discussion to allow students to take the parts of books that most interest them and apply those analytical skills. Simply put, in Lit Hum I learned how to read. Shayne also taught us how to write. Reading draft after draft of our writing, he has taught me and my classmates how best to make academic arguments and has also encouraged us to pursue the topics we are most passionate about. Shayne's class has challenged, enlightened, and even entertained me. You could not ask for a better prof.

Acknowledging previous reviews, it is very hard to get an A in his class. Although this might have a deflationary effect on your GPA at a school where everyone else gets an A- just for showing up, this class will help you think, argue, and write in ways that you never imagined you could. Since I took this class two years ago, I've had no problem writing successful research papers, and more impressively, have never lost a debate with my parents. In short, swallow your pride and do whatever you can to take his course. He's one of the best teachers in the business.

By far the best class I've ever taken anywhere. I can't believe how much we learned. As other people have noted, Prof. Legassie doesn't simply teach content and themes. Instead, he teaches you how to analyze the works yourself and find interesting things to say anywhere in a book. The atmosphere in the class is electric--the intellectual excitement of everyone is always palpable and contagious. Legassie requires a lot more effort from you than other professors, but for every hour he asks you to put in, he gives you back two, whether in office hours or in spontaneous meetings about your writing or phenomenal field trips. I loved going to this class and I started missing it before it even ended.

This is a review I should have written a long time ago. Shayne is very smart and an incredibly committed and effective teacher. Taking his class helped me become far more organised in my thought and in my writing. I do not remember enough else. Shayne is wonderful. Help him help you and you'll learn a lot. Oh yes, Shayne was so good that he was an instructor for L&R instructors the year after he taught us. And then I believe he pioneered the University Writing course. But I'm not sure. I don' t think he teaches L&R anymore. But take anything with him. He's too bright and too committed not to do a brilliant job.

I had Shayne for Lit Hum last year and it was an amazing experience. The more time that passes since I took Shayne's class the more I grow to appreciate a) how uniquely dynamic, challenging and fun it was and b) how essential and empowering the skills are that Shayne teaches. There is not one paper I've written at Columbia in which I did not use the tools of textual analysis and/or argument development that I learned from him. Take it from someone who is HIGHLY critical of all of my teachers: this man is a gem as a person and, more importantly, as an educator. Take whatever class he teaches and you will look at your work with fresh eyes and excitement.

At first I was scared. Not only did Shayne ask tough questions in class, but he also wrote comments on my papers like "this isn't really an argument but rather a stream of unconnected ideas that has overflowed its banks." It didn't take me long, though, to realize that he wasn't a jerk and that, in fact, he was the best teacher I've had at Columbia so far. Thanks to his thorough comments and helpful conferences by the end of the semester I felt like a more versatile thinker and much more confident writer. As for the man himself, he's super intelligent, friendly, funny and really cares about the progress of his students and can talk about Foucault, Grand Theft Auto, psychoanalysis and porn (!!). He's also stylish and cute.

I miss LitHum. CC is fine, but nothing can compare to the year I spent in Shayne's class. At the time I didn't realize how rare it is to be in a classroom full of people who are excited about having done the reading and who are excited because the professor has made learning about so many things so much fun. Although I'm not a "literature person" I couldn't wait to do the reading for LitHum, and even though I didn't finish Don Quixote--Shayne had us read the whole thing--I read the rest of it this summer because our discussions about it were so exciting. LitHum was the best learning experience I've ever had and Shayne the best teacher. My only complaint is that now everything else seems a little bland in comparison.

Shayne is an excellent teacher. He is very good at getting students to understand the logic and the strategy behind arguments. He does not lay down rigid rules for structure (like a lot of L&R instructors seem to), the understanding being that your arguments should find their own. His classes are usually very engaging, he gives extensive feedback on each essay, and is a great help outside of class. Shayne helped me a great deal in polishing my writing, and I left his class with a good understanding of several important concepts. He obviously loves his subject, he enjoys teaching, and he's a wonderful person --a combination that would make any class fabulous.

For my third essay, I e-mailed him asking for help on my thesis. He was in Butler and read the email and saw me in the room at the same time. He came up to me and asked if I wanted to talk to him then and there. It was a Saturday afternoon and we ended up talking for about an hour. Even though he was busy he was willing to set aside all that time to help me. Shayne is extremely patient, approachable, and brings a refreshing mood to the classroom. You've probably noticed from today's class that he doesn't usually lecture but rather facilitates discussion. I know that he rereads the books along with his students every year, because he says he notices different things and teaches differently from year to year. Shayne often takes into consideration someone's comment or idea earnestly which I wish older instructors would do more frequently. His style of just facilitating discussion and rediscovering the texts we read along us is, I have to say, a risky approach on his part. On rare occasions, when it's a slow day for everyone the discussion can get stale and slow without any progress made. But there are those classes I live for when we hit upon a gold mine and just dig and dig. During these classes I truly feel as if I own a piece of the intellectual back-and-forth that went on - that I really contributed something. This is Shayne's goal. He's eaten lunch with me and some other stu…

A great teacher. He is very laid back in class and is always helpful with papers. You can tell that he enjoys being there and makes the class somewhat enjoyable. He is a harsh grader, though, and the grades do not improve much even though he says that you are improving. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get an A on a paper, and there is no inflation at the end of the semester.